Scotland's future catching policy: strategic environmental assessment report 2026

Footnotes

1 Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005

2 Future fisheries: management strategy - 2020 to 2030 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

3 Where relevant, the relationship between the issue and the UK MS descriptor of GES is shown as ‘D#’ where # represents the number of the descriptor, as shown in Appendix A.

4 Entanglement dangle booklet 2018.pdf (scottishcreelfishermensfederation.co.uk)

5 BEIS (Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy) (2021b) 2019 UK Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Final Figures – Statistical Summary.

6 DfT (Department for Transport) (2021) Statistical Release: Transport and Environment Statistics 2021 Annual Report, 11 May 2021.

7 Mieszkowska, N., Burrows, M. and Sugden, H. (2020) Impacts of climate change on intertidal habitats relevant to the coastal and marine environment around the UK. MCCIP Science Review 2020, 256–271.

8 Engelhard, G.H., Righton, D.A. and Pinnegar, J.K., 2014. Climate change and fishing: a century of shifting distribution in North Sea cod. Global change biology, 20(8), pp.2473-2483.

Townhill, B.L., Couce, E., Tinker, J., Kay, S. and Pinnegar, J.K., 2023. Climate change projections of commercial fish distribution and suitable habitat around north western Europe. Fish and Fisheries, 24(5), pp.848-862.

Maltby, K.M., Rutterford, L.A., Tinker, J., Genner, M.J. and Simpson, S.D., 2020. Projected impacts of warming seas on commercially fished species at a biogeographic boundary of the European continental shelf. Journal of Applied Ecology, 57(11), pp.2222-2233.

9 Robertson, J.H.B. (1983). Square mesh cod-end selectivity experiments on whiting (Merlangius merlangus) and haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus); Robertson, J.H.B. (1988). A comparison of size selection of haddock and whiting by square and diamond mesh codends. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 44(2), pp. 148–161; Gatti, P., Sala, A., Herrmann, B., Fortibuoni, T. and Lucchetti, A. (2020). Reducing discards of demersal species using a 100 mm square mesh cylinder in the Celtic Sea. Fisheries Research, 230, 105658.

10 Petrakis, G. and Stergiou, K.I. (1997). Size selectivity of diamond and square mesh codends for four commercial Mediterranean fish species. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 54(1), pp. 13–23; Sala, A., Lucchetti, A., Piccinetti, C. and Ferretti, M. (2008). Size selection by diamond- and square-mesh codends in multi-species Mediterranean demersal trawl fisheries. Fisheries Research, 93(1–2), pp. 8–21

11 Marine Scotland (2015). Selectivity in Trawl Fishing Gears. Aberdeen: Marine Scotland Science; ICES (2020). ICES Advice on Technical Measures and Selectivity in Demersal Fisheries. Copenhagen: ICES

12 MarFishEco/Office for Environmental Protection (2025). Review and Evaluation of the Monitoring and Regulatory Landscape for Bycatch in UK Marine Waters. Bristol: OEP.

13 Graham, N. and Fryer, R.J. (2006). Separation of fish from Nephrops norvegicus into a two-tier cod-end using a selection grid. Fisheries Research, 82(1–3), pp. 111–118; Karlsen, J.D., Brinkhof, J., Herrmann, B. and Madsen, N. (2016). Using fish behaviour to separate fish from Nephrops norvegicus in a horizontally divided codend in the mixed trawl fishery. Journal of Ocean Technology, 11(3), pp. 35–47; Cosgrove, R., Browne, D., Tyndall, P., Minto, C. and Geoghegan, F. (2019). A game of two halves: bycatch reduction in Nephrops mixed fisheries. Fisheries Research, 209, pp. 38–49; Karlsen, J.D., Herrmann, B., Brinkhof, J. and Madsen, N. (2024). One mesh does not fit all: a dual-compartment codend improves selectivity in mixed fisheries. Ocean & Coastal Management, 245, 106944.

14 Bova, D. J., Drewery, J., Fryer, R. J. & Ferro, R. S. T. (2009). Effect of vessel horsepower on the selectivity of Nephrops trawls. Scottish Industry/Science Partnership (SISP) Report, 03/09.

15 Fraser et al. 2019. Eilidh report for GITAG.

16 Graham, N. (2001). Square mesh panels in demersal trawls: some data on haddock selectivity in relation to mesh size and position. Fisheries Research, 49(3), pp. 207–218; Kynoch, R.J., Ferro, R.S.T. and Fryer, R.J. (200p). The effects of square mesh panel mesh size and position on the selectivity of high and low powered Nephrops trawlers. Seafish Industry Science Partnership Report 04/09 and Fisheries Research Services Report 008/08.

17 L50 is a standard fisheries selectivity metric representing the fish length at which half of the individuals entering a fishing gear are retained and half are able to escape; higher L50 values indicate greater protection for juvenile fish.

18 Graham, N., Kynoch, R.J. and Fryer, R.J. (2003). Square mesh panels in demersal trawls: further data relating haddock and whiting selectivity to panel position. Fisheries Research, 62(3), pp. 361–375.

19 O’Neill, F.G. (2008). The effect of varying cod-end circumference, inserting a ‘codend relief’ panel and shortening extension piece length on cod-end selectivity. Fisheries Research, 93(1–2), pp. 130–139.

20 Kynoch, R.J., Ferro, R.S.T. and Fryer, R.J. (200p). The effects of square mesh panel mesh size and position on the selectivity of high and low powered Nephrops trawlers. Seafish Industry Science Partnership Report 04/09 and Fisheries Research Services Report 008/08.

21 Kingston, A., Northridge, S., Paxton, C.G.M. and Forti Buratti, J.P. (2023). Improving Understanding of Seabird Bycatch in Scottish Longline Fisheries and Exploring Potential Solutions. St Andrews: University of St Andrews.

22 Brothers, N. (1999). The incidental catch of seabirds by longline fisheries: worldwide review and technical guidelines for mitigation. FAO Fisheries Circular No. 937. Rome: FAO; Melvin, E.F., Sullivan, K.M., Robertson, G. and Wienecke, B. (2004). A review of the effectiveness of streamer lines as a seabird bycatch mitigation measure in longline fisheries. Biological Conservation, 117(2), pp. 193–204; Gilman, E., Brothers, N. and Kobayashi, D. (2005). Principles and approaches to abate seabird bycatch in longline fisheries. Fish and Fisheries, 6(1), pp. 35–49.

23 JNCC (2019). Seabird Bycatch in UK Waters: A Review of Population Impacts and Mitigation Measures. Peterborough: Joint Nature Conservation Committee; Marine Scotland (2023). Scottish Seabird Conservation Action Plan – Fisheries Interactions Evidence Base. Edinburgh: Scottish Government.

24 MacLennan, E., Hartny-Mills, L., Read, F.L., Dolman, S.J., Philp, A., Dearing, K.E., Jarvis, D. and Brownlow, A.C (2021). Scottish Entanglement Alliance (SEA) - understanding the scale and impacts of marine animal entanglement in the Scottish creel fishery. NatureScot Research Report 1268; Leaper R, MacLennan E, Brownlow A, Calderan SV, Dyke K, Evans PGH, Hartny-Mills L, Jarvis D, McWhinnie L, Philp A, Read FL, Robinson KP, Ryan C (2022) Estimates of humpback and minke whale entanglements in the Scottish static pot (creel) fishery. Endang Species Res 49:217-232;

25 Myers, R.A., Baum, J.K., Shepherd, T.D., Powers, S.P. and Peterson, C.H. (2021). Cascading effects of rope in the ocean: entanglement risk and mitigation through sinking groundlines. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, 630; Dolman, S.J. and Brakes, P. (2018). Mitigating impacts of fixed fishing gear on marine mammals: best practice and emerging solutions. Journal of Marine Biology Association of the UK, 98(7), pp. 1821–1833.

26 Knowlton, A.R., Hamilton, P.K., Marx, M.K., Pettis, H.M. and Kraus, S.D. (2012). Monitoring North Atlantic right whale entanglement rates: a 30-year retrospective. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 466, pp. 293–302; NOAA (2021). Large Whale Entanglement Reduction Plan: Scientific Support Document. Silver Spring, MD: NOAA Fisheries.

27 FAO (2016).Abandoned, Lost and Otherwise Discarded Fishing Gear. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper No. 523. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; Richardson, K., Hardesty, B.D. and Wilcox, C. (2019). Estimates of fishing gear loss rates at a global scale: A literature review and meta-analysis. Fish and Fisheries, 20(6), pp. 1218–1231.

28 JNCC (2021).Marine Litter in UK Seas: Impacts, Pathways and Mitigation. Peterborough: Joint Nature Conservation Committee.

29 Thrane, M. (2006). LCA of capture fisheries: Development and feasibility of a methodological framework. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 11(1), pp. 66–74; Parker, R.W.R. and Tyedmers, P. (2015). Fuel consumption of global fishing fleets: current understanding and knowledge gaps. Fish and Fisheries, 16(4), pp. 684–696.

30 STECF (2021). Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) – 2021 Annual Economic Report on the EU Fishing Fleet (AER). Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg; FAO (2016). Fuel efficiency in fisheries: Lessons from energy audits in selected African, Asian and Latin American countries. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper No. 588. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization.

31 Marine Mammal Bycatch Reporting Requirements - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

32 Bell ED, Nash RMD, Garnacho E, De Oliveira J, Hanin M, Gilmour F, O’Brien CM 2023. Assessing the sustainability of negotiated fisheries catch limits by the UK for 2023. Cefas project report for Defra.

33 Kingston, A., Thomas, l. and Northridge, S. (2021) UK Bycatch Monitoring Programme Report for 2019. Sea Mammal Research Unit.

34 Northridge, S., Kingston, A. and Thomas, l. (2019) Annual report on the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 812/2004 during 2018. Sea Mammal Research Unit).

35 Kingston, A., Thomas, l. and Northridge, S. (2021) UK Bycatch Monitoring Programme Report for 2019. Sea Mammal Research Unit.

36 Marine Mammal By-catch

37 Kittiwake breeding success has only been achieved for the English mainland colonies. GES for Kittiwake breeding success has not been achieved for the entire North Sea region due to breeding failures in Orkney and Shetland.

38 Anderson, O.R.J., Thompson, D. & Parsons, M. (2022). Seabird bycatch mitigation: evidence base for possible UK application and research. JNCC Report No. 717, JNCC, Peterborough. ISSN 0963-8091.

39 Northridge. S., Kinston. A. and Coram. A. (2020). Preliminary estimates of seabird bycatch by UK vessels in UK and adjacent waters. Scottish Ocean Institute, University of St Andrews. Final report to JNCC

40 Miles, J., Parsons, M. and O’Brien, S. (2020). Preliminary assessment of seabird population response to potential bycatch mitigation in the UK-registered fishing fleet. Report prepared for the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Project Code ME6024).

41 Kittiwake breeding success has only been achieved for the English mainland colonies. GES for Kittiwake breeding success has not been achieved for the entire North Sea region due to breeding failures in Orkney and Shetland.